Today’s post is by Guest Artist Jenny Petricek. She shares her art journal, which captures all her handwritten letters, postcards, and photos from her grandparents. Somerset Place would like to thank her for her contribution and amazing artwork. While growing up, I was fortunate to have a very close relationship with my maternal grandparents, Warren […]

Today’s post is by Guest Artist Jenny Petricek. She shares her art journal, which captures all her handwritten letters, postcards, and photos from her grandparents. Somerset Place would like to thank her for her contribution and amazing artwork.

While growing up, I was fortunate to have a very close relationship with my maternal grandparents, Warren and Loretta, who I affectionately referred to as Maema and Papa. Although they both witnessed the rise of the internet, email, and text messaging in their long lifetimes, they preferred to communicate with their loved ones the old-fashioned way, through cards and letters. They loved to travel, and each time they went on one of their cross-country journeys, they sent me postcards. When I went off to college and then later moved to the “big city” after graduation, they kept in touch with regular handwritten letters. Even as my grandmother’s eyesight diminished due to macular degeneration, she still managed to send letters to me, either typed on an electric typewriter or dictated to my grandpa.

I kept most of the cards and letters my grandparents sent to me, and they were a great source of comfort after they’d passed away; reading their words allowed me to hear their voices again. For many years I’d stored these items in a boring business envelope, but recently I decided they needed a much better home, so I created a special art journal in which to display them, along with photos and other memorabilia. I call it “Letters & Love,” and it was easy and fun to make!

What You Do:

1. Gather all of your cards/letters, photos, and memorabilia. Decide which items will appear on the journal’s pages; any extras can be placed in the envelope.

2. Prepare the journal. First, tear out at least 15-20 pages to create more room in the binding. Next, attach 2-3 single pages together with double-sided tape to create thicker pages; this will give your pages the strength to handle the added weight of the gesso, paint, and paper. Finally, after all the pages have been completed, cover them liberally with gesso on both sides and let dry.

3. Create the page backgrounds. I did this in different ways in my journal. On some pages I began with a layer of collage, adhering scraps of patterned paper to the page with gel medium and then painting over them. On others, I jumped right in with acrylic paint, squirting different colors on the page and mixing them with my fingers. To add more interest, I rubbed paint through stencils. I let the paint dry before moving on.

4. Add the focal pieces. Some of my focal pieces were part of greeting cards I’d trimmed to fit in the journal, taking care to preserve special sentiments and handwritten messages; I also used photos and other memorabilia. I attached these items to the pages with double-sided tape.

5. Add embellishments. I used a wide variety of embellishments on my pages, including stamps, stickers, rub-ons, die-cut borders, photo corners, and washi tape. On many pages, I also wrote and doodled with pens.

6. Add inserts. I decided that I’d insert my postcards between pages, so that I could easily see both the imagery on the front and the handwriting on the back. I attached the postcards with strips of washi tape near the binding; if you spread a thin layer of gel medium under and over the tape, it will serve as reinforcement and keep the postcards secure.

7. Finish the cover. I began with a coat of gesso, followed by a layer of collaged paper and washi tape, and then a mixture of paint. I arranged papers, photos, and other embellishments on the cover. I generated my title on a word processor, printed it out, and trimmed it to fit.

8. Spray all the pages with an archival spray varnish; this will seal the layers on your pages and protect the cards and memorabilia from damage.

I’m very satisfied with my finished journal because it provides a great home for all of the treasured pieces of mail my grandparents sent me over the years, and tells the story of the warm relationship I had with them. If you’re holding on to special memorabilia from the past, why not take it out of the box, folder, or envelope where you’ve been hiding it, and put it into a wonderful handmade art journal?

–Jenny Petricek

]]>https://stampington.com/blog/2015/09/22/guest-artist-jenny-petricek/feed/14Somerset Place: The Official Blog of Stampington &amp; CompanyMake this Adorable Instagram Album with our Item of the Week!https://stampington.com/blog/2015/09/13/make-adorable-instagram-album-item-week/
https://stampington.com/blog/2015/09/13/make-adorable-instagram-album-item-week/#respondSun, 13 Sep 2015 18:00:44 +0000https://stampington.com/blog/?p=14957

This week, we’re offering our Instagram leather albums at a whopping 20% off! To have fun with this amazing deal, our Shoppe Manager made this adorable album full of photos from her summer adventures. Take a peek inside her album and get inspired to make one of your own for all the memories of your […]

This week, we’re offering our Instagram leather albums at a whopping 20% off! To have fun with this amazing deal, our Shoppe Manager made this adorable album full of photos from her summer adventures. Take a peek inside her album and get inspired to make one of your own for all the memories of your many adventures!

With a collection of Instagram photos, some Art Pops cards, and Project Life supplies, add some personal touches to the photos and pop them into the sleeves for an album that is sure to be an insta-success!

Hi everyone. My name is Heather Jacob and I live in Australia I am so excited and grateful to have been invited to share one of my Art Journals with you. I have journaled most of my life and love to look back and read about my memories, words, and feelings. In 1999 my treasured […]

Hi everyone. My name is Heather Jacob and I live in Australia I am so excited and grateful to have been invited to share one of my Art Journals with you. I have journaled most of my life and love to look back and read about my memories, words, and feelings. In 1999 my treasured son Mark, age 22, was killed on his motorbike as you may imagine this left a huge hole in my life. I was absolutely consumed by pain and grief … 3 years along my grief journey I discovered scrapbooking and it has changed my life.

To me this craft is the perfect combination of art,
photography, beautiful paper,
and glorious words.
I especially love to choose some elements,
cast a spell,
and see what happens, to create a dream and follow it through.
Subtle shadows,
light and color are all ingredients for casting the spell.
I am inspired by colour and texture … which I weave
into my works
I love to include stitching, chipboard, journaling,
muslin,
fabrics, metal elements, inking, masking, and texture past…
Getting messy brings out the kid in me
Mark is always in my heart and Art Journaling
is a wonderful and powerful way of keeping his memory alive.
I made a promise to myself to honour his memory
by living my life to the best of my ability.

For this particular journal, I chose the 4 colours of the chakras

Orange, Yellow, Blue, and Brown
Why may you ask?

Orange
is the color of emotion, passion, pleasure, and health.Yellow
is the color of self-esteem, self-worth, confidence, and personal power.Blue
is the color of self expression, nervous system, communication, will power, and creativity.Brown
is the color of transformation … being grounded and in touch with nature.
releasing the old/detachment and beginning the transformation into a new state of awareness.

My Cover: Memories Documented

I have created lots of layering and texture.
The layers represent my grief and pain.
The metal, spark plugs, and cogs– Mark’s motor bike
the numbers represent the years of my journey
The Graphic 45 pen-nibs are for my journaling.

“Write to yourself”
Make the next book you buy an empty one
fill its pages with the thoughts, feelings, and stories from your life
written words can capture a feeling forever.
record JOY and a decade later you can read it over and feel
THE HAPPINESS
you felt on that particular day.
“Record despair and one sad day you can read it once again
and know that you can RECOVER just like you did before.”
Being a student of your own history you can design a better future
capture in words your life’s journey
before TIME steals away it’s lessons.

I love to use the ring bound journals.they are very sturdyand also make it very easy to change and rearrange my pages and pockets.

Lots of pockets with tags, holding memorabilia and journaling.

A shot of some of my pages in this journal.

Tutorial

A step-by-step to create one of my tags found in this journal.

Gather the ingredients for the Tag:

Graphic 45 blck tag

Distress crackle paint

Distress rusty hing spray/tissue tape

Versa color turquoise ink

Stencil

Golden moulding Paste

Pallet knife

A quote and paper

Adhere paper, quote, and washi tape to tag.

Optional: Machine stitch the tag for added detail

Add texture paste through a stencil

Add inked embellishment

Coat with crackle paint

Complete the tag with more distress ink to create richness and depth.

Add more crackle paint and string.

Thanks so much for looking at my work
I hope I have inspired you to have a play with an art journal
they can be on any subject / theme you choose.
happy scrapping and
warm hugz to each of you xoxo

Dina Wakley’s signature style is full of bright, pops of colors and grungy goodness. With these projects from The Studio, you can capture Dina Wakley’s look, and find inspiration for creating your own grungy canvases, tags, and cards. Each of these tutorials use Dina’s Stampington-exclusive art stamp line, featuring beautiful script, stunning silhouettes, and edgy […]

Dina Wakley’s signature style is full of bright, pops of colors and grungy goodness. With these projects from The Studio, you can capture Dina Wakley’s look, and find inspiration for creating your own grungy canvases, tags, and cards. Each of these tutorials use Dina’s Stampington-exclusive art stamp line, featuring beautiful script, stunning silhouettes, and edgy textures.

Using color washes, paint, and cling mount stamps, Dina provides the inspiration to make these art boards easy. After stamping the images, Dina used free-motion stitching to add extra texture and detail.

These cards incorporate vintage book text with the bright colors and stamps that capture Dina Wakley’s signature style. Combining waterfall blue and raspberry paints, this project is perfect for making a quick note for a friend or sending out a “thank you.” Add depth to these hand-stamped cards with stitching and vintage shirt buttons.

Dina’s artistic scrapbook page is a mixture of painting, stamping, gluing, and stitching, making it a true mixed-media masterpiece. The watered-down acrylic paint is dripped across the side of the page to create a watercolor effect that makes the stamped hearts and script really pop.

These colorful canvases can be made with all your favorite colors of acrylic paint. Create any color scheme you’d like, and then stamp the images directly on the canvas. Consider incorporating book text images, found objects, or hand-painted shapes and designs for extra personality.

Even artist Pam Carriker, who has been published often in Somerset Studio, Art Journaling, and Artists’ Café, has experimented with Dina Wakley’s designs in her artwork. With watercolor backgrounds, these art journal pages are composed of turquoise and green hues, abstract collage images, and edgy layering techniques to create a strong statement about the power of limited palettes.

These art canvases layer the different elements for a creative, collaged look. Try adding ephemera that has been sprayed/dyed with color wash sprays to create a cohesive canvas with plenty of textures and interesting details.

This gift tag doesn’t have to be reserved for the holidays. You can use bright colors and Dina Wakley’s stamps to create tags for gifts all year round. To achieve this look, spray the tag with ink, and stamp with texture and white paint. The star creates a sharp contrast with its brightly colored background and provides a beautiful focal point.

This project was based on ideas and techniques from Dina Wakley’s book, “Art Journal Courage,” and calls for layers of acrylic paint to be added with your fingers and a dry foam brush. Apply white gesso with a palette knife to add variation to the canvas. The end result is a natural-looking, textured canvas.

These plain, white cards become vibrant with a coat of light aqua paint. The artist used Dina’s Garden Grunge stamps in the background of the card and added accents of red paint with torn paper to create charming cards to give to the artsy and girly friends in your life!

With these Dina Wakley-inspired projects, we hope you’ll experiment and find an artistic style that is all your own. Whether you’re applying bright colors or adding some grungy edge to your pieces, our Dina Wakley stamps can help the creative process for all your mixed-media, stamping, and card making projects.

Comment and Share for a Chance to Win a Dina Wakley Stamp!

We’re giving away a Dina Wakley stamp to 3 lucky winners. Share this post on social media and comment below to be entered into our prize drawing.

Winners will be randomly selected from the comments for our stamp giveaway and contacted via email. Contest is open to U.S. residents only, and ends 7/20/15 at 11:59pm PST.